Today is Nelson Mandela Day and although the great man died 6 years ago, his impact is still felt greatly around the world and will continue to be felt for many years to come. This is because he helped change the lives of many people during his 95 years on earth.
To celebrate this icon whose presence is greatly missed in the world, we have come up with 10 iconic things and events in Nelson Mandela’s life we think that you should know. They are:
1. Nelson Mandela was born on the 18th of July, 1918 and he died at the age of 95 on the 5th of December, 2013. He had been married three times, fathering six children. He had seventeen grandchildren.
2. He was first arrested and unsuccessfully prosecuted for seditious activities in 1956 while trying to overthrow the then newly founded apartheid government and system.
3. He was later arrested and then sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962 for conspiring to overthrow the state.
4. He served 27 years jail term across three different prisons before he was released in 1990. He went ahead to team up with the South African president at the time, F. W. De Clark, to negotiate an end to apartheid.
5. He became the first black president of South Africa in 1994.
6. He declined a second term as president at the end of his first term in 1999 and one of the most interesting things that was shared about his time as president was that he made his own bed every morning.
7. He remained an activist after he became an elder statesman at the end of his tenure as president. He kept combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through his Nelson Mandela Foundation.
8. He is referred to in South Africa as “father of the nation” and his words have lived on after his death as some of the most popular quotes in the world.
9. Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela received over 250 awards, accolades, prizes, honorary degrees, and even citizenships in recognition of his political achievements.
10. Mandela Day was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009. His birthday, 18th of July, was declared as the “Nelson Mandela Day”.
Today, we celebrate the greatness that is Nelson Mandela and we hope that with these information we have shared about him, your respect for him has grown even more. Happy Nelson Mandela Day!